Camera Fun in Hawaii

During the second half of our vacation, on the Poipu side, I decided to try out some new techniques with the camera.  I wanted to capture the waves as more of a rolling mist.  To do this I needed a longer shutter speed which meant a lower light atmosphere.  I could only take these at dawn or dusk; I was awake for both but I worked at dusk because I enjoyed reading in the early morning.  Here are some of my favorites that I took.

A silhouetted sunset.

In this one I was trying something on the camera where it overlaps
two pictures.  I liked the idea of a sailboat with the 'foggy' waves.

I tried to get artistic with these.  The lighting was getting pretty pour by this time and it was the last night so I couldn't experiment as much I wanted.

And to end with, my favorite shots to take- waves crashing on rocks.

We're Going on a River Adventure

On Friday of our trip we took a kayak tour up a river that concluded with a hike to a waterfall.  The kayaking was 3 miles both ways and the round trip was about 2 miles, making for a busy afternoon.  The current in the river was fairly mild, but the wind coming from the ocean made the journey back a more grueling experience.  Along the way river, Elise and I stopped at rope swing we found and enjoyed a few swings into the river.  The experience being wholly centered around water, we used our underwater and the gopro to capture the memory.

Team 2.

View up the river we got to enjoy while kayaking.

Our prow pushing forward.

Team 3.

Anticipating the glory of the rope swing.

Below are three videos clips I put together from the afternoon.  The first video shows the kayaking, both before and after the hiking.  The second video is clips from the rope swing- which took place during the kayaking.  The final video includes clips from the hike and the waterfall.

Rocky Bluffs

After the coffee plantation excursion, we went driving for a secluded beach.  Our navigation took us through some all factory/plantation lands and included a run-in with some pick-up truck that considered themselves security.  We ended up on some bluffs overlooking the beach we had been trying to reach from afar.  Although we couldn't make it to the beach, the coastline was beautiful.  I also got to snap some more of my favorite pictures- waves crashing on rocks.  I think I've said before that I like capturing the water splattering after the crash.

That's the beach we were trying to get to.

Elise checking out the waves up close. 

There were several kite surfers out taking advantage of the wind.

Coffee Plantation

On Friday of our vacation we got to visit Kauai Coffee Plantation.  Kauai Coffee Company was founded on the island in early 19th century and have been producing coffee there ever since.  They grow coffee on some 3000+ acres on the western side of Kauai and allow guests to take an 1/8 mile tour through some of the plants.  There are signs along the way describing the process of coffee production from planting and growing to roasting and selling.  They also had many different flavored coffees out for sampling.  I tried some of their regular coffee and banana macadamia nut.  I also bought an iced coffee cup there and was given a free fill-up.

A beautiful close up of unripe coffee beans.

Coffee plants as far as the eye can see.

They use machines like this to harvest their crop.

Sign 7 here says "Sorting things out".  These structures are used to
sort through their different grades of coffee beans.  They have five
classes and sell coffee for each one.

Sampling some of the coffee.

4th of July Part II

After our waterfall adventures we finally arrived in Poipu.  Elise and I went immediately to the "Spouting Horn".  The Spouting Horn is a little tourist rocky beach; the incoming waves crash into the rocks and have carved their way under.  The water then spouts up from holes a few feet in from the water line creating blowhole like springs.  They also have a place for boutique shops there but these were already closed.  And as any good American's Independence Day should, our 4th of July ended with fireworks that we lit off from the beach.  First the ones from the Spouting Horn

This was the biggest blowhole there.  Our timing was impeccable;
we got there a little before high tide when the spouts are highest.

A more dispersed spout generated a good sized rainbow.

In the lower middle is a junior spout.

Besides the spouting, the beach had a great view.

Apparently it became to risky to actually go on the rocks so
they (those un-liked powers to be) put a fence in.

These next few are from our back lawn.

Looking northwards.

The sun setting behind a building.

Some surfers savoring a sunset surf.

Some family fun before fireworks.

I found some games in a closet.  I decided to bust out twister while
we waited for the dusk to fade before lighting fireworks.

Alex Pfotenhauer: Twister Champion Extraordinaire.

Finally to the fireworks.  Since I was show master, most of these were taken by Elise's sister.  As fire master, I managed to walk away with only three small burns despite the severe wind.

Elise doing a local, time-honored dance with fireworks.

Backing away after lighting one off.

Lorrie dancing with sparklers.

The Grand Finale.